CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Posting a flashy win to open the 2023-24 season at home, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team topped St. Thomas 79-41 Tuesday night in the Dugan Wellness Center.
Despite the Celts (0-1) nailing the first shot of the night, the Islanders (1-0) heated up and went on a 14-0 run to open their scoring of the 2023-24 season in front of their home crowd, who got to see the entire roster play as all 14 players saw time on the court.
Junior Nabaweeyah McGil played the longest at 21 minutes, helping her to a team-high 13 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks. She played a big role in the Islanders dominating in the paint where they outscored the Celts 52-2. They also held an advantage in 25-5 points off turnovers as the Islanders only turned the ball over seven times compared to St. Thomas's 23.
A trio of Islanders turned in 10 points apiece, with junior
Annukka Willstedt nailing three shots from beyond-the-arc to aid in her 10-point finish. Senior
Mireia Aguado and freshman
Torie Sevier both came off the bench to also contribute 10 points each.
Senior
Violeta Verano neared double digits with nine points, adding five steals and assists. Graduate
Alecia Westbrook contributed nine rebounds and seven points.
The Islanders evened the game at 2-2 off a pair of successful free throws by Verano. Willstedt sank her first from long range to go up 5-2 to help A&M-Corpus Christi settle into control. Layups by Westbrook and Aguado extended the score to 14-2 before St. Thomas finally found another bucket but back-to-back threes by Willstedt pulled the Islanders ahead 21-7 to help close out a 25-7 opening quarter.
Aguado got back to work in the second to grab the defensive rebound before running full court for the lay in. Buckets inside the paint by Sevier and Verano gave the Islanders a 38-10 advantage with 2:19 remaining in the half before the pair each notched another layup each to close out the first 20 minutes up 42-12.
Out of the break, the Islanders continued their attack with five quick points capped by the steal-and-score by Verano on the fastbreak. Junior
Jaeda Whitner got inside for the layup to make it 52-17 at the five-minute mark in the third. The jumper by Sevier got A&M-Corpus Christi to 60 with under a minute left, but Westbrook extended it after running the length of the court to beat the buzzer to make it 62-21 at the end of the third.\
Senior
Sasha Shishkina helped with four points to start the final quarter and keep a 40-point lead. Junior
Maya Ellis gave the Islanders their largest lead of the night at 76-31 with an inside bucket on the fastbreak at the 4:11 mark. Junior
Tymberlin Criswell capped A&M-Corpus Christi's scoring with its final bucket of the night as they closed out the 79-41 opening night victory.
The Islanders will now hit the road to face a tough Texas A&M team on Thursday night before returning back to the Dugan Wellness Center for a pair of home games next week.
NOTES
- The Islanders are now a perfect 6-0 all-time over the Celts.
- It is the third meeting in a row with St. Thomas that the Islanders held at least a 30-point lead at the half. They led the half 44-13 last year and 45-15 in the 2021-22 season.
- The Islanders are now 226-148 all-time at home and 60-29 in the Dugan Wellness Center. They have won at least 10 home games in both of the last two seasons.
- The game marked the third time that the Islanders opened their season at home against St. Thomas. The last time was in 2019-20, which was the last time the Islanders had won their season opener.
- The Islanders played all 14 student-athletes on the roster for at least nine minutes each. Every player attempted at least one shot.
- In her collegiate debut, Sevier posted her first career double figure scoring game with 10 points. She also set the bar high for herself with seven rebounds.
- McGill submitted her 10
th career double figure scoring game and first since the 2021-22 season. Her 21 minutes is also the most she has played in a game since two seasons ago. Her nine rebounds was one shy of matching her career-best of 10, set against Concordia on December 13, 2020.
- It marked Aguado's third career time to score in double figures, and first since February 2, 2023, when she scored 12 points at New Orleans. She was one point shy of matching her career-high of 14, set against New Orleans in 2021.
- Willstedt turned in her fifth career double figure scoring game and first since the 2021-22 season.
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